There’s a certain kind of shame in admitting this, but I’m going to say it anyway:

I’ve been earning around £60 a year from Google AdSense.

That’s… five pounds a month. A flat white. A particularly enthusiastic wax melt order. And in return for this fiver? I’ve had to turn my blog — my precious, once-pretty blog — into something that looked like a spammy newspaper from 2004.

Autoplay ads. Clashing fonts. Pop-ups. Rows of boxes selling insurance and clickbait cat food articles. All slapped across my most heartfelt writing like a bargain bin sale sign on a Monet.

And for what?

A cheque that wouldn’t even cover my monthly biscuit budget.

So I’m done.

This is my soft goodbye to AdSense. Not with rage. Just with relief.

💡 Why I’m Walking Away:

Because the ads didn’t feel aligned with me anymore.

Because the earnings weren’t worth the eyesore.

Because this blog is part of my soft life, and nothing about AdSense felt soft.

It was noisy. Messy. Disruptive.

And I’ve spent too many years building peace to rent out my calm for pennies.

🧭 What I’m Doing Instead:

I’m shifting to a more intentional kind of monetisation:

• Amazon links to products I genuinely love (and already talk about).

• Travel content with affiliate suggestions woven into my actual stories.

• Occasional gift guides that feel helpful, not pushy.

• And one day, maybe, a proper ad network that pays like it means it (hello, Mediavine… we’re not there yet, but I’m waving).

But mostly?

I’m writing again.

And I want my readers to have a clean, calm, ad-free space to come and sit with me in the chaos.

Because the blog deserves better.

I deserve better.

And so do you.

Explore my favourite finds on Amazon — quietly curated, no chaos.

Why I’m Choosing the Soft Life — and Taking My Content with Me

 I’ve made an intentional decision — not just to live the soft life, but to work through it too.

You might already know that I’m what some people would call an accidental influencer. I never set out to be a content creator, but here I am — with multiple platforms, an Amazon storefront, and a TikTok shop presence that’s been quietly evolving behind the scenes.

If you’ve read my recent post about TikTok imploding, you’ll know that one of the reasons I believe the platform is struggling is because everything’s gotten louder. The voices are more frantic. The energy is more frantic. “Buy this now! Flash sale! Only 2 minutes left!”

And lately, that energy has crept into lives too — creators shouting about countdown deals like they’re auctioneers at a car boot sale. I tried it over the weekend. I hated it.

Because here’s the truth: I don’t want to live a “buy this now” life.

I want to tell stories.

I’ve always been a storyteller. That’s why I became a professional photographer — not to take pretty pictures, but to capture moments that say something. Telling stories builds community. It helps people see themselves in your world. And if someone buys a product at the end of that? Amazing. But if they leave feeling seen — that’s even better.

So yes, you’ll start to see a shift in my content.

More soft life. More honesty. More calm.

More quiet moments with cats and coffee and trousers that make me feel like the main character.

If it all falls apart and I can’t pay the rent, then fine — I’ll shout into the algorithm void and fight for my life like everyone else. But for now? I’m taking a multi-platform approach across my blog, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Amazon. I believe that somewhere in the middle of all of that, I can build something sustainable — something that feels like me.

Because I want to create content that inspires people, not overwhelms them. I want people to feel welcome in my corner of the internet. I want to work in a way that doesn’t cost me my soul.

And if you’re still here — still reading — then maybe you’re looking for that too.

So let’s build it. Slowly. Softly. And on our own terms.